The lede from CRUX: “Vatican officials have asked Indonesian Bishop Hubertus Leteng, who recently resigned over allegations of theft and having an affair, to return the church funds he is accused of stealing” – about $100,000.

At first glance, this seems reasonable. But the Vatican is hardly even-handed in dealing with financial misconduct. Recall the recent case of financial misconduct in the Vatican itself (Vatican Financial Crimes and Hypocrisy). The Secretary of State spent over $500,000 to have his apartment redone - taking the money from a children’s hospital. The Secretary of State was not charged with a crime. Nor was he asked to resign. Instead, the banker he used for this crime is going to jail.

Had Bishop Leteng been a Vatican insider or one of the pope’s cronies, it is unlikely that he would have been fired and embarrassed in this way. But people of color are unlikely to attain either position.

Note the Church’s moral priorities. No bishop has ever been fired for covering up the sexual abuse of children. No bishop has ever been fired for shuffling pederast priests from parish to parish, knowingly endangering children. In the eyes of the Church, having an affair and pilfering some money is far worse than aiding and abetting child abuse.